Simultaneous lvds i/o signaling method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

First and second devices may simultaneously communicate bidirectionally with each other using only a single pair of LVDS signal paths. Each device includes an input circuit and a differential output driver connected to the single pair of LVDS signal paths. An input to the input circuit is also connected to the input of the driver. The input circuit may also receive an offset voltage. In response to its inputs, the input circuit in each device can use comparators, gates and a multiplexer to determine the logic state being transmitted over the pair of LVDS signal paths from the other device. This advantageously reduces the number of required interconnects between the first and second devices by one half.

This application is a divisional of prior application Ser. No.15/282,345, filed September 30, 2016, currently pending;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 13/890,856, filedMay 9, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,484,921, granted Nov. 1, 2016;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 13/196,355, filedAug. 2, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,872, granted Jun. 11, 2013;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 12/892,261, filedSep. 28, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,013,634, granted Sep. 6, 2011;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 12/560,673, filedSep. 16, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,825,695, granted Nov. 2, 2010;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 12/251,600, filedOct. 15, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,612,584, granted Nov. 3, 2009;

Which was a divisional of prior application Ser. No. 11/555,349, filedNov. 1, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,453,283, granted Nov. 18, 2008;

Which claims priority from Provisional Application No. 60/733,571, filedNov. 4, 2005.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates in general to circuit input and outputdifferential signaling interfaces and in particular to interfaces basedon Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS).

BACKGROUND

Today LVDS signaling is being used in a myriad of circuit communicationapplications, including; (1) system to system communication via cableconnections, (2) board to board communication via backplane connections,and (3) IC to IC communication via board or other substrate levelconnections. The present disclosure anticipates LVDS signalingapplications to be extended, beyond these known applications, to includesignaling applications between circuits (vender and custom circuits(cores)) embedded within ICs as well. The benefits of LVDS signalingover other (single ended) signaling schemes include; (1) improvedsignaling noise immunity, (2) lower signaling power consumption, and (3)higher signaling speeds. The drawback of LVDS signaling is that itdoubles the number of connections required between a sending circuit anda receiving circuit. The present disclosure, in at least one aspect,eliminates this connection doubling drawback. Conventional LVDS signalcommunication occurs between an LVDS driver and an LVDS receiver over apair of signal paths. The pair of signal paths may support bidirectionalcommunication between two driver and receiver pairs, but notsimultaneously.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure discloses a design of LVDS drivers and receiverssuch that a pair of LVDS drivers and receivers can simultaneouslycommunicate over a single pair of signal path leads.

A first device comprises a signal source 1, a signal destination 2, aLVDS driver, an input circuit, termination resistor, and a resistor inseries with each of the differential signal paths. The input circuitreceives inputs from the LVDS signal path and from an output from source1. The input circuit provides input to destination 2.

A second device 502 comprises a signal source 2, a signal destination 1,an LVDS driver, an input circuit, a termination resistor, and a resistorin series with each of the differential signal paths. The input circuitreceives inputs from the LVDS signal path and from an output from source2. The input circuit provides input to destination 1.

A first example input circuit comprises an inverter with its inputcoupled to the output from the source circuit, a differential receiverwith its non-inverting and inverting inputs coupled to the differentialsignal path, a window comparator with A and B inputs coupled to thedifferential signal path, and a multiplexer with a first input coupledto the output of the inverter, a second input coupled to the output ofthe differential receiver, a control input coupled to the output of thewindow comparator, and an output coupled to the input of the destinationcircuit.

A second example input circuit comprises an inverter with its inputcoupled to the output from the source circuit, a window comparator withA and B inputs the differential signal path, and a multiplexer. Themultiplexer has a first input coupled to a fixed logic high, a secondinput coupled to a fixed logic low, a third input coupled to the outputof the inverter, a first control input coupled to an output C of thewindow comparator, a second control input coupled to an output D of thewindow comparator, and an output coupled to the input to destinationcircuit.

One example circuit that could be used as window comparator comprises afirst comparator with its non-inverting input coupled to the input A,its inverting input coupled to the input B, and its output coupled tothe output C. A second comparator has its non-inverting input coupled tothe input B, its inverting input coupled to the input A, and its outputcoupled to output D.

The first comparator is designed such that the voltage on itsnon-inverting input must be greater than the voltage on its invertinginput by an offset voltage (OSV) value (80 millivolts in this example)before the comparator output C will go high. The second comparator isdesigned such that the voltage on its non-inverting input must begreater than the voltage on its inverting input by an offset voltage(OSV) value (80 millivolts in this example) before the comparator outputD will go high. If the voltage difference on the A and B inputs is lessthan 80 millivolts, comparator outputs C and D go low. While 80millivolts was used as an example OSV, any desired value of OSV may beused as well.

Another circuit that could be used to realize the window comparatorcomprises a first comparator with its non-inverting input coupled to theA input and its inverting input coupled to a reference voltage (assumedto be 250 mv in this example), a second comparator with itsnon-inverting input coupled to the B input and its inverting inputcoupled to the reference voltage, an OR gate with a first input coupledto the output of the first comparator, a second input coupled to theoutput of the second comparator, and an output coupled to the C output.

Another circuit that could be used to realize window comparatorcomprises a first comparator with its non-inverting input coupled to theA input, its inverting input coupled to a reference voltage (assumed tobe 250 mv in this example), and an output coupled to the C output, asecond comparator with its non-inverting input coupled to the B input,its inverting input coupled to the reference voltage, and an outputcoupled to the D output.

Each device comprises a deserializer for receiving serial data from theinput circuit, data receiving circuitry for inputting parallel data fromthe deserializer, a serializer for inputting serial data to the driver,and data providing circuitry for inputting parallel data to theserializer. The combination of the data receiving circuitry anddeserializer represent one example design for a destination circuit or asource circuit.

One of the devices also comprises clock output circuitry and an LVDSclock driver. The clock output circuitry provides a clock output todriver and outputs control (CTL) signals to operate the providingcircuitry, serializer, deserializer, and receiving circuitry. Thecontrol (CTL) signals output to the serializer and deserializer from theclock output circuit will operate faster than the control signals to thereceiving and providing circuits since they will be controlling thehigher speed serial input and output operations occurring over thesignal paths. The clock output circuit may employ use of clock andcontrol signal modification circuits such as but not limited to; a phaselock loop, a phase shifter, a frequency divider, or a frequencymultiplier. The clock driver is similar to the other drivers and drivesLVDS clock outputs from the device on signal paths separate from theother signal paths. LVDS clocking is shown being used to provide highspeed clock signals between the devices. If desired, single endedclocking could be used instead of the differential clocking shown, butthe clocking frequency would be reduced between the devices. The deviceoutputting the LVDS clock on the clock signal paths is assumed to be amaster device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a prior art LVDS driver communicating a logic one toa prior art LVDS receiver.

FIG. 1B illustrates a prior art LVDS driver communicating a logic zeroto a prior art LVDS receiver.

FIG. 2A illustrates a prior art example of a signal source circuit inone device communicating a logic 1 to a signal destination circuit inanother device using an LVDS driver and receiver.

FIG. 2B illustrates a prior art example of a signal source circuit inone device communicating a logic 0 to a signal destination circuit inanother device using an LVDS driver and receiver.

FIG. 3 illustrates prior art example of signal source and destinationcircuits of one device communicating with signal source and destinationcircuits of another device using two pairs of LVDS signal paths.

FIG. 4 illustrates prior art example of signal source and destinationcircuits of one device communicating with signal source and destinationcircuits of another device using a one pair of LVDS signal paths.

FIG. 5 illustrates signal source and destination circuits of one devicecommunicating with signal source and destination circuits of anotherdevice using one pair of LVDS signal paths according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates a first signal source communicating a logic 1 to afirst signal destination simultaneous with a second signal sourcecommunicating a logic 1 to a second signal destination using one pair ofLVDS signal paths according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6B illustrates the electrical circuit model of the communication ofFIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A illustrates a first signal source communicating a logic 0 tofirst signal destination simultaneous with a second signal sourcecommunicating a logic 0 to a second signal destination using one pair ofLVDS signal paths according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B illustrates the electrical circuit model of the communication ofFIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A illustrates a first signal source communicating a logic 1 to afirst signal destination simultaneous with a second signal sourcecommunicating a logic 0 to a second signal destination using one pair ofLVDS signal paths according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8B illustrates the electrical circuit model of the communication ofFIG. 8A.

FIG. 9A illustrates a first signal source communicating a logic 0 to afirst signal destination simultaneous with a second signal sourcecommunicating a logic 1 to a second signal destination using one pair ofLVDS signal paths according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 9B illustrates the electrical circuit model of the communication ofFIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 illustrates use of a single termination resistor in the LVDSsignal paths of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11A illustrates a first example of how the input circuit of thepresent disclosure may be designed.

FIG. 11B illustrates one example of how the window comparator of theinput circuit of FIG. 11A may be designed.

FIG. 12A illustrates a second example of how the input circuit of thepresent disclosure may be designed.

FIG. 12B illustrates one example of how the window comparator of theinput circuit of FIG. 12A may be designed.

FIG. 13A illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 11A may be designed.

FIG. 13B illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 11A may be designed.

FIG. 13C illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 11A may be designed.

FIG. 13D illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 11A may be designed.

FIG. 13E illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 12A may be designed.

FIG. 13F illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 12A may be designed.

FIG. 13G illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 12A may be designed.

FIG. 13H illustrates a second example of how the window comparator ofFIG. 12A may be designed.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of two devices connected together via anLVDS data signal path and an LVDS clock signal path according to thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an example of two devices connectedtogether via plural LVDS data signal paths and an LVDS clock signal pathaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a first example of a device connected to a debug,trace, or emulation controller via an LVDS data signal path and an LVDSclock signal path according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates a second example of a device connected to a debug,trace, or emulation controller via an LVDS data signal path and an LVDSclock signal path according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a device connected to an IC or dietester via an LVDS data signal path and an LVDS clock signal pathaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a device connected to an IC or dietester via a plurality of LVDS data signal paths and an LVDS clocksignal path according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a plurality of devices connected to anIC or die tester via LVDS data signal paths and LVDS clock signal pathsaccording to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the connection between a conventional LVDSdriver 100 and receiver 102. The driver has an input 114, anon-inverting output 116 and an inverting output 118. The driver iscomprised of transistors, indicated as switches 104-110, that arecontrolled by the input 114. The receiver has a non-inverting input 120,an inverting input 122, and an output 124. A first signal pathconnection 126 is formed between driver output 116 and receiver input120. A second signal path connection 128 is formed between driver output118 and receiver input 122. A termination resistor 112 is placed acrossthe receiver inputs 120 and 122.

In FIG. 1A, a logic high is input to the driver. In response,transistors 104 and 106 are turned on and transistors 108 and 110 areturned off. In this arrangement current flows from the driver currentsource through transistor 104, termination resistor 112, and transistor106. The direction of the current flow develops a voltage acrosstermination resistor 112 such that the voltage at the receiver input 120is more positive than the voltage at receiver input 122. In response tothis input voltage, the receiver outputs a logic high on output 124.

In FIG. 1B, a logic low is input to the driver. In response, transistors108 and 110 are turned on and transistors 104 and 106 are turned off. Inthis arrangement current flows from the driver current source throughtransistor 108, termination resistor 112, and transistor 110. Thedirection of the current flow develops a voltage across terminationresistor 112 such that the voltage at the receiver input 122 is morepositive than the voltage at receiver input 120. In response to thisinput voltage, the receiver outputs a logic low on output 124.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are provided to illustrate the conventional operation ofcurrent mode LVDS drivers and receivers. Voltage mode LVDS drivers andreceivers may also be used, but current mode LVDS drivers and receiversare the most common variety. The present disclosure may be used witheither current or voltage mode LVDS drivers and receivers.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an LVDS connection formed between a firstdevice 200 and a second device 204. Devices 200 and 204 may besub-systems in a system, boards in a backplane, ICs on a board or othersubstrate, or embedded core circuits in an IC. In FIGS. 2A and 2B andall following figures, the devices could represent; (1) a master devicecoupled to a slave device, (2) a master device coupled to another masterdevice, or (3) a slave device coupled to another slave device.

Example master devices include but are not limited too; amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor, a Serdes serializer, acomputer, a production or field tester, an emulation controller, and atrace/debug controller.

Example slave devices include but are not limited too; a circuitcontrolled by a microprocessor, a circuit controlled by a digital signalprocessor, a Serdes deserializer, a circuit controlled by a computer, acircuit controlled by a tester, a circuit controlled by an emulationcontroller, and a circuit controlled by a trace/debug controller.

Device 200 comprises a signal source 202 and an LDVS driver 100. Device204 comprises a signal destination 206 and an LDVS receiver 102. Thesignal source 202 in device 200 may be any type of circuit that operatesto output signals to the LVDS driver 100. The signal destination 204 maybe any type of circuit in device 204 that operates to input signals fromLVDS receiver 102. The source and destination circuits could be used toperform a myriad of operations including but not limited to; (1) afunctional operation of the device, (2) a test operation of the device,(3) a debug operation of the device, (4) a trace operation of thedevice, and (5) an emulation operation of the device.

One example signal source circuit could be a Serdes serializer thatoperates to input parallel data from another circuit within device 200and to output the data serially to driver 100. One example signaldestination circuit could be a Serdes deserializer that operates toinput serial data from receiver 102 and to output the data in parallelto another circuit within device 204.

FIG. 2A illustrates a logic high being output from source 202 andreceived by destination 206. As seen, the driver 100 outputs currentfrom output terminal 116 to output terminal 118, which develops avoltage across resistor 112 with the polarity being more positive on thereceiver input 120 than receiver input 122. The receiver 102 outputs alogic high to destination 206 in response to the polarity of the voltageacross the resister 112.

FIG. 2B illustrates a logic low being output from source 202 andreceived by destination 206. As seen, the driver 100 outputs currentfrom output terminal 118 to output terminal 116, which develops avoltage across resistor 112 with the polarity being more positive on thereceiver input 122 than receiver input 120. The receiver 102 outputs alogic low to destination 206 in response to the polarity of the voltageacross the resister 112.

In either FIG. 2A or 2B the termination resistor 112 may exist withindevice 204 or it may exist external of device 204. This is true for allfollowing figures.

FIG. 3 illustrates two devices 300 and 302 each having signal source 202and destination 206 circuits and LVDS driver 100 and receiver 102circuits. In this example, source 1 202 of device 300 can communicatewith destination 1 206 of device 302 and source 2 202 of device 302 cancommunicate with destination 2 206 of device 300. The communications canoccur simultaneously since separate LVDS signal paths 304 and 306 existbetween the devices. Having to use separate LVDS signal paths forsimultaneous communication increases the interconnect between devices300 and 302.

FIG. 4 illustrates two devices 400 and 402 each having signal source 202and destination 206 circuits and LVDS driver 402 and receiver 102circuits. LVDS drivers 402 are similar to LVDS drivers 100 with theexception that the LVDS drivers 402 have an enable input 404 and 406.The enable input is used to enable or disable the output drive of driver402. If enable input 404 is set to enable driver 402 of device 400 andenable input 406 is set to disable driver 402 of device 402, source 1202 of device 400 can communicate with destination 1 206 of device 402.Likewise, if enable input 404 is set to disable driver 402 of device 400and enable input 406 is set to enable driver 402 of device 402, source 2202 of device 402 can communicate with destination 2 206 of device 400.The communications cannot occur simultaneously but rather must occur atseparate times since only one LVDS signal path 410 exists between thedevices. Having to communicate at separate times decreases thecommunication bandwidth between the source and destination circuits ofdevices 400 and 402.

As seen in FIG. 4, the termination resistors 112 of each receiver 102lie in parallel on the LVDS signal path 410. This results in a parallelresistance termination (PRT) 412 on the signal path (indicated in dottedline). The value of PRT 412 is equal to the parallel resistance ofresistors 112. For example, if resistors 112 are 100 ohms, a typicalvalue for LVDS termination resistors, PRT will be 50 ohms. Since currentmode LVDS drivers 402 output a constant current, a reduction in thesignal path termination resistance (i.e. the 50 ohm PRT) will lowerdifferential signaling voltages on the signal path 410 to the receivers102. Lowering differential signaling voltages can cause communicationproblems (i.e. lowers the differential noise margin) between an enableddriver and receiver in the LVDS signaling arrangement of FIG. 4.Therefore the differential signaling arrangement of FIG. 4 should onlybe used in applications where noise is low and the signaling path 410 isshort.

The present disclosure provides a way to allow simultaneous source todestination communication between devices, like in FIG. 3, whilerequiring only a single LVDS signal path interconnect between devices,like in FIG. 4.

The present disclosure provides a way to maintain appropriate LVDSsignaling voltages (and noise margins) on an LVDS signal path where thetermination resistance of the signal path is decreased due to theparallel arrangement of LVDS termination resistors, like in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates the LVDS signaling arrangement between devices 500and 502 according to the present disclosure. Device 500 comprises asignal source 1 202, a signal destination 2 206, an LVDS driver 100, aninput circuit 504, termination resistor 112, and resistors 506 and 508.The input circuit 504 receives inputs from LVDS signal path 514, LVDSsignal path 516, and the output from source 1 202. The input circuit 514provides input to destination 2 206. Resistor R1 506 is placed in seriesbetween the driver output terminal 116 and signal path 514. Resistor R2508 is placed in series between the driver output terminal 118 andsignal path 516.

Device 502 comprises a signal source 2 202, a signal destination 1 206,an LVDS driver 100, an input circuit 504, termination resistor 112, andresistors 510 and 512. The input circuit 504 receives inputs from LVDSsignal path 514, LVDS signal path 516, and the output from source 2 202.The input circuit 514 provides input to destination 1 206. Resistor R3510 is placed in series between the driver output terminal 116 andsignal path 514. Resistor R4 512 is placed in series between the driveroutput terminal 118 and signal path 516.

If devices 500 and 502 are boards or other substrates in a system,resistors 506-512 could be discrete resistors placed, as shown, inseries between the driver outputs 116 and 118 and board/substratecontacts connected to signal paths 514 and 516.

If devices 500 and 502 are ICs on a board or other substrate, resistors506-512 could be poly or transistor channel resistances placed, asshown, in series between the driver outputs 116 and 118 and IC padsconnected to signal paths 514 and 516.

If devices 500 and 502 are embedded core circuits in an IC, resistors506-512 could be poly or transistor channel resistances placed, asshown, in series between the driver outputs 116 and 118 and core circuitterminals connected to signal paths 514 and 516.

The LVDS driver and series resistor arrangement could be as shown inFIG. 5, i.e. the driver and resistors are separate circuits connectedtogether inside the device, or the driver and series resistors could beintegrated to form a new driver circuit 518 applicable for use by thepresent disclosure. The circuitry and detail operation of the inputcircuits 504 will be described later in regard to FIGS. 11, 12, and 13.

During operation of the devices in FIG. 5, source 1 202 of device 500outputs data to driver 100 which transmits differential signals over thesignal paths 514-516 to input circuit 504 of device 502 to be input todestination 1 206 of device 502. Simultaneously, source 2 202 of device502 outputs data to driver 100 which transmits differential signals overthe signal paths 514-516 to input circuit 504 of device 500 to be inputto destination 2 206 of device 500.

Resistors 506-512 should be equal in value or as near equal in value aspossible to each other. The value of each resistor 506-512 is preferablyless than the value of the termination resistor 112. In the followingdescription of the examples shown in FIGS. 6A-6B, 7A-7B, 8A-8B, 9A-9B,and 10 it will be assumed for simplification that the terminationresistors 112 are 100 ohms, resistors 506-512 are each 25 ohms, and thedrivers 100 are 5 milliamp LVDS drivers.

With 100 ohm termination resistors 112, the parallel terminationresistance (PRT) 412 across the signal paths 514-516, due to thetermination resistors 112, is equal to 50 ohms. While these resistor andcurrent values are used in the description, the present disclosure isnot limited to use of only these values. Indeed, other resistance andcurrent values can be used without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure.

In FIG. 6A, it is seen that if source 1 of device 500 and source 2 ofdevice 502 both output a logic high to drivers 100, input circuit 504 ofdevice 500 will input a logic high to destination 2 of device 500 andinput circuit 504 of device 502 will input a logic high to destination 1of device 502.

In FIG. 6B, the electrical model of the FIG. 6A signal transferoperation is shown. As seen, driver 100 of device 500 sources current(I1) into signal path 514 from terminal 116 and returns current (I2)from signal path 516 at terminal 118. Also as seen, driver 100 of device502 sources current (I3) into signal path 514 from terminal 116 andreturns current (I4) from signal path 516 at terminal 118. The sum ofthe source currents (I1 and I3) pass through PRT 412 (the parallelresistance of terminal resistors 112) and develop a voltage across PRTwith the polarity shown. The voltage developed across PRT is input tothe voltage input (Vin) of the input circuits 504 of FIG. 6A. Inresponse to Vin the input circuits 504 output logic highs todestinations 1 and 2 206.

In FIG. 6B, if the drivers 100 each provide a source current of 5milliamps, the voltage across each resistor 506-512 will be 125millivolts (i.e. 25 ohms×5 ma) and the voltage across PRT 412 will be500 millivolts (i.e. 50 ohms×10 ma). A Vin of 500 millivolts with thepolarity shown provides a differential LVDS input signal to the inputcircuits 504 that the input circuits 504 can easily recognize as a logichigh. The 500 millivolts differential input signal also providesexcellent noise immunity in applications with high noise and long signalpaths 514-516.

While a 500 millivolts differential signal was produced in this exampleusing the assumed currents and resistances, other differential signalvoltages could be produced using different assumptions on currents andresistances.

In FIG. 7A, it is seen that if source 1 of device 500 and source 2 ofdevice 502 both output a logic low to drivers 100, input circuit 504 ofdevice 500 will input a logic low to destination 2 of device 500 andinput circuit 504 of device 502 will input a logic low to destination 1of device 502.

In FIG. 7B, the electrical model of the FIG. 7A signal transferoperation is shown. As seen, driver 100 of device 500 sources current(I2) into signal path 516 from terminal 118 and returns current (I1)from signal path 514 at terminal 116. Also as seen, driver 100 of device502 sources current (I4) into signal path 516 from terminal 118 andreturns current (I3) from signal path 514 at terminal 116. The sum ofthe source currents (I2 and I4) pass through PRT 412 and develop avoltage across PRT with the polarity shown. The voltage developed acrossPRT is input to the voltage input (Vin) of the input circuits 504 ofFIG. 7A. In response to Vin the input circuits 504 output logic lows todestinations 1 and 2 206.

In FIG. 7B, if the drivers 100 each provide a source current of 5milliamps, the voltage across each resistor 506-512 will be 125millivolts (i.e. 25 ohms×5 ma) and the voltage across PRT 412 will be500 millivolts (i.e. 50 ohms×10 ma). A Vin of 500 millivolts with thepolarity shown provides a differential LVDS input signal to the inputcircuits 504 that the input circuits 504 can easily recognize as a logiclow. Again, the 500 millivolts differential input signal providesexcellent noise immunity in applications with high noise and long signalpaths 514-516.

As in FIGS. 6A-6B, while a 500 millivolts differential signal wasproduced in the FIG. 7A-7B example using the assumed currents andresistances, other differential signal voltages could be produced usingdifferent assumptions on currents and resistances.

In FIG. 8A, it is seen that if source 1 of device 500 outputs a logichigh to the driver 100 of device 500 and source 2 of device 502 outputsa logic low to driver 100 of device 502, input circuit 504 of device 500will input a logic low to destination 2 of device 500 and input circuit504 of device 502 will input a logic high to destination 1 of device502.

In FIG. 8B, the electrical model of the FIG. 8A signal transferoperation is shown. As seen, driver 100 of device 500 sources current(I1) into signal path 514 from terminal 116 and returns current (I2)from signal path 516 at terminal 118. Also as seen, driver 100 of device502 sources current (I4) into signal path 516 from terminal 118 andreturns current (I3) from signal path 514 at terminal 116. In thiselectrical situation, the current (I1) sourced from driver 100 of device500 is the current (I3) returned to driver 100 of device 502, and thecurrent (I4) sourced from driver 100 of device 502 is the current (I2)returned to driver 100 of device 500.

Since resistors 506-512 are assumed to be 25 ohms each and the sourcecurrents I1 and I4 are assumed to be 5 milliamps each, the voltagespresent on signal path 514 and signal path 516 are the same or veryclose to being the same. With the same voltage present on the terminalsof PRT 412, no current, or only a small leakage current, flows throughPRT 412. Thus the voltage drop across PRT (i.e. Vin) that is input toinput circuits 504 is extremely small.

In response to the small Vin voltage, the input circuits 504 of devices500 and 502 are designed to input the opposite logic level that eachdevice 500 and 502 was outputting. For example, since source 1 202 ofdevice 500 in FIG. 8A is outputting a logic high, the input circuit 504of device 500 will respond to the small Vin voltage by inputting a logiclow to destination 2 206 of device 500. Likewise, since source 2 202 ofdevice 502 in FIG. 8A is outputting a logic low, the input circuit 504of device 502 will respond to the small Vin voltage by inputting a logichigh to destination 1 206 of device 502.

In FIG. 9A, it is seen that if source 1 of device 500 outputs a logiclow to the driver 100 of device 500 and source 2 of device 502 outputs alogic high to driver 100 of device 502, input circuit 504 of device 500will input a logic high to destination 2 of device 500 and input circuit504 of device 502 will input a logic low to destination 1 of device 502.

In FIG. 9B, the electrical model of the FIG. 9A signal transferoperation is shown. As seen, driver 100 of device 500 sources current(I2) into signal path 516 from terminal 118 and returns current (I1)from signal path 514 at terminal 116. Also as seen, driver 100 of device502 sources current (I3) into signal path 514 from terminal 116 andreturns current (I4) from signal path 516 at terminal 118. In thiselectrical situation, the current (I2) sourced from driver 100 of device500 is the current (I4) returned to driver 100 of device 502, and thecurrent (I3) sourced from driver 100 of device 502 is the current (I1)returned to driver 100 of device 500.

Since resistors 506-512 are assumed to be 25 ohms each and the sourcecurrents I2 and I3 are assumed to be 5 milliamps each, the voltagespresent on signal path 514 and signal path 516 are the same or veryclose to being the same. With the same voltage present on the terminalsof PRT 412, no current, or only a small leakage current, flows throughPRT 412. Thus the voltage drop across PRT (i.e. Vin) that is input toinput circuits 504 is extremely small.

In response to the small Vin voltage, the input circuits 504 of devices500 and 502 are designed to input the opposite logic level that eachdevice 500 and 502 was outputting. For example, since source 1 202 ofdevice 500 in FIG. 9A is outputting a logic low, the input circuit 504of device 500 will respond to the small Vin voltage by inputting a logichigh to destination 2 206 of device 500. Likewise, since source 2 202 ofdevice 502 in FIG. 9A is outputting a logic high, the input circuit 504of device 502 will respond to the small Vin voltage by inputting a logiclow to destination 1 206 of device 502.

FIG. 10 is provided to indicate that in applications where noise is lowand the signal paths are short, a single termination resistor (RT) 1002may be used between the signal paths instead of the two separatetermination resistors 112 previously shown on the input of the inputcircuits 504. It is clear that use of a single termination resistor1002, of say 100 ohms, will advantageously increase the Vin voltage tothe input circuits 504 using the assumed 5 milliamp LVDS drivers 100.The operation of the present disclosure in the single terminationresistor arrangement of FIG. 10 is identical to that previouslydescribed in FIGS. 6A-6B through 9A-9B.

As seen from the above descriptions of FIGS. 6A-6B, 7A-7B, 8A-8B, 9A-9B,and 10, the present disclosure uses a network of resistances (R1, R2,R3, R4, and PRT/RT) in an LVDS signal path 514-516 in combination withspecial input circuits 504 to advantageously enable simultaneousdifferential signal communication between two devices.

FIG. 11A illustrates a first example circuit 1100 that could be used toperform the function of input circuit 504. Circuit 1100 comprises aninverter 1102 with its input coupled to the output 1120 from sourcecircuit 202, a differential receiver 102 with its non-inverting input1108 coupled to signal path 514 and its inverting input 1110 coupled tosignal path 516, a window comparator 1104 with its A input 1112 coupledto signal path 514 and its B input 1114 coupled to signal path 516, anda multiplexer 1106 with a first input coupled to the output of inverter1102, a second input coupled to the output of differential receiver 102,a control input coupled to the output window comparator 1104, and anoutput 1118 coupled to the input to destination circuit 206.

The function of the window comparator 1104 is to output a logic high onthe C output 1116 whenever the voltage on its A input 1112 is greaterthan the voltage on its B input 1114 plus an offset voltage (OSV) “or”whenever the voltage on its B input 1114 is greater than the voltage onits A input 1112 plus an offset voltage (OSV). Otherwise the windowcomparator outputs a logic low on the C output 1116.

The offset voltages (OSV) are set such that if a small differentialvoltage, as described in FIGS. 8A-8B and 9A-9B, is present betweensignal paths 514 and 516, the voltage differential at the A and B inputsof the window comparator 1104 will not be sufficiently large enough tocause the C output of the window comparator to be set to a logic high.Thus in response to small differential voltages, the window comparator1104 will output a logic low to the control input of multiplexer 1106,which causes the inverted Out (Out*) signal from the source 202 of adevice to be input to the destination 206 of the same device, viamultiplexer output 1118.

On the other hand, if an adequately large differential voltage ispresent between the signal paths 514 and 516, the differential voltageat the A and B inputs of the window comparator 1104 will be sufficientlylarge enough to exceed the offset voltages (OSV) and cause the C outputof the window comparator to be set to a logic high. For example, the 500mv signal of polarity shown in FIGS. 6A-6B will cause output C of thewindow comparator to be set high. Likewise, the 500 mv signal ofpolarity shown in FIG. 7A-7B will cause output C of the windowcomparator to be set high. If output C of the window comparator is high,multiplexer 1106 will output the output of receiver 102 to thedestination 206 via multiplexer output 1118. For example, receiver 102will output a logic high to destination 206, via multiplexer 1106, inresponse to receiving the 500 mv signal of polarity shown in FIGS.6A-6B. Further, receiver 102 will output a logic low to destination 206,via multiplexer 1106, in response to receiving the 500 mv signal ofpolarity shown in FIGS. 7A-7B.

In summary, the input circuit 1100 of FIG. 11A outputs the invertedoutput of the source 202 of a device to the destination 206 of the samedevice if the differential voltage on signal paths 514 and 516 is smalland within a voltage window established by offset voltage (OSV)settings. The input circuit 1100 of FIG. 11A outputs the output of thereceiver 102 to the destination 206 of the device if the differentialvoltage on signal paths 514 and 516 is large and outside the voltagewindow established by the offset voltage (OSV) settings.

FIG. 11B illustrates one example circuit 1124 that could be used aswindow comparator 1104 of FIG. 11B. The circuit 1124 comprises a firstcomparator 1126 with its non-inverting input 1132 coupled to input A1112 and its inverting input 1134 coupled to input B 1114, a secondcomparator 1128 with its non-inverting input 1136 coupled to input B1114 and its inverting input 1138 coupled to input A 1112, an OR gate1130 with a first input coupled to the output of comparator 1126, asecond input coupled to the output of comparator 1128, and an outputcoupled to output C 1116.

Comparator 1126 is designed such that the voltage on its non-invertinginput 1132 must be greater than the voltage on its inverting input 1134by an offset voltage (OSV) value (assumed to be 80 millivolts in thisexample) before the comparator output will go high. Comparator 1128 isdesigned such that the voltage on its non-inverting input 1136 must begreater than the voltage on its inverting input 1138 by an offsetvoltage (OSV) value (assumed to be 80 millivolts in this example) beforethe comparator output will go high. If the voltage difference on the Aand B inputs is less than 80 millivolts, output C goes low. If thevoltage difference on the A and B inputs is greater than 80 millivolts,output C goes high. While 80 millivolts was used as an example OSV, anydesired value of OSV may be used as well.

FIG. 12A illustrates a second example circuit 1200 that could be used toperform the function of input circuit 504. Circuit 1200 comprises aninverter 1202 with its input coupled to the output 1216 from sourcecircuit 202, a window comparator 1204 with its A input 1208 coupled tosignal path 514 and its B input 1210 coupled to signal path 516, and amultiplexer 1206 with a first input coupled to a fixed logic high, asecond input coupled to a fixed logic low, a third input coupled to theoutput of inverter 1202, a first control input coupled to output C 1212of window comparator 1204, a second control input coupled to output D1214 of window comparator 1204, and an output 1218 coupled to the inputto destination circuit 206.

The functions of the window comparator 1204 are:

(1) to output a logic high on output C and a logic low on output Dwhenever the voltage on its A input 1208 is greater than the voltage onits B input 1210 plus an offset voltage (OSV) “and” the voltage on its Binput 1210 is less than the voltage on its A input plus an offsetvoltage (OSV),(2) to output a logic low on output C and a logic high on output Dwhenever the voltage on its A input 1208 is less than the voltage on itsB input 1210 plus an offset voltage (OSV) “and” the voltage on its Binput 1210 is greater than the voltage on its A input plus an offsetvoltage (OSV),(3) to output a logic low on output C and output D whenever the voltageon its A input 1208 is less than the voltage on its B input 1210 plus anoffset voltage (OSV) “and” the voltage on its B input 1210 is less thanthe voltage on its A input plus an offset voltage (OSV).

The offset voltages (OSV) are set such that if a small differentialvoltage, as described in FIGS. 8A-8B and 9A-9B, is present betweensignal paths 514 and 516, the voltage differential at the A and B inputsof the window comparator 1204 will not be sufficiently large enough tocause both the C and D outputs of the window comparator to be set high.Thus in response to small differential voltages, the window comparator1204 will output logic lows to the control inputs of multiplexer 1206,which causes the inverted Out (Out*) signal from the source 202 of adevice to be input to the destination 206 of the same device, viamultiplexer output 1206.

On the other hand, if an adequately large differential voltage ispresent between the signal paths 514 and 516, the differential voltageat the A and B inputs of the window comparator 1104 will be sufficientlylarge enough to exceed the offset voltages (OSV) and cause either the Cor D output of the window comparator to be set high. For example, the500 mv signal of polarity shown in FIGS. 6A-6B will cause output C to beset high and output D to be set low. Likewise, the 500 mv signal ofpolarity shown in FIG. 7A-7B will cause output D to be set high andoutput C to be set low.

If output C is high and output D is low, multiplexer 1206 will outputthe fixed logic high input to destination 206 via multiplexer output1218. If output C is low and output D is high, multiplexer 1206 willoutput the fixed logic low input to destination 206. And as mentioned,if both output C and D are low, multiplexer 1206 will output theinverted output (Out*) of the source 202 of a device to the destination206 of the same device.

In summary, the input circuit 1200 of FIG. 12A outputs the invertedoutput of the source 202 of a device to the destination 206 of the samedevice if the differential voltage on signal paths 514 and 516 is smalland within a voltage window established by offset voltage (OSV)settings. The input circuit 1200 of FIG. 12A outputs the fixed logichigh to the destination 206 of the device if the differential voltage onsignal paths 514 and 516 is such that the voltage on input A issufficiently larger that the voltage on input B plus the offset voltage(OSV). The input circuit 1200 of FIG. 12A outputs the fixed logic low tothe destination 206 of the device if the differential voltage on signalpaths 514 and 516 is such that the voltage on input B is sufficientlylarger that the voltage on input A plus the offset voltage (OSV).

FIG. 12B illustrates one example circuit 1220 that could be used aswindow comparator 1204 of FIG. 12B. The circuit 1220 comprises a firstcomparator 1222 with its non-inverting input 1226 coupled to input A1208, its inverting input 1228 coupled to input B 1210, and its outputcoupled to output C 1212, and a second comparator 1224 with itsnon-inverting input 1230 coupled to input B 1210, its inverting input1232 coupled to input A 1208, and its output coupled to output D 1214.

Comparator 1222 is designed such that the voltage on its non-invertinginput 1226 must be greater than the voltage on its inverting input 1228by an offset voltage (OSV) value (80 millivolts in this example) beforethe comparator output C will go high. Comparator 1224 is designed suchthat the voltage on its non-inverting input 1230 must be greater thanthe voltage on its inverting input 1232 by an offset voltage (OSV) value(80 millivolts in this example) before the comparator output D will gohigh. If the voltage difference on the A and B inputs is less than 80millivolts, comparator outputs C and D go low. While 80 millivolts wasused as an example OSV, any desired value of OSV may be used as well.

FIGS. 13A-13D show another circuit 1300 that could be used to realizewindow comparator 1104 of FIG. 11A. Circuit 1300 comprises a firstcomparator 1302 with its non-inverting input coupled to the A input andits inverting input coupled to a reference voltage (assumed to be 250 mvin the FIG. 13A-13D examples), a second comparator 1304 with itsnon-inverting input coupled to the B input and its inverting inputcoupled to the reference voltage, an OR gate 1306 with a first inputcoupled to the output of comparator 1302, a second input coupled to theoutput of comparator 1304, and an output coupled to the C output. Tosimply the description, circuit 1300 will be shown used in the signalingarrangements previously described in FIGS. 6B, 7B, 8B, and 9B, and withthe previously assumed resistance and current values stated for saidFigures.

FIG. 13A illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 6B, the voltage (625 mv) on the A input of circuit1300, coupled to signal path 514, will be greater than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (125 mv) on the B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1302 will output a logic high to OR gate 1306 and comparator1304 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306. In response, the OR gatewill output a logic high on the output C, causing multiplexer 1106 ofFIG. 11A to output the output of receiver 102 to destination 206 aspreviously described.

FIG. 13B illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 7B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1300, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (625 mv) on the B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be greater than the reference voltage (250 mv).Thus comparator 1302 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306 andcomparator 1304 will output a logic high to OR gate 1306. In response,the OR gate will output a logic high on the output C, causingmultiplexer 1106 of FIG. 11A to output the output of receiver 102 todestination 206 as previously described.

FIG. 13C illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 8B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1300, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (125 mv) on the B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1302 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306 and comparator1304 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306. In response, the OR gatewill output a logic low on the output C, causing multiplexer 1106 ofFIG. 11A to output the output (Out*) of inverter 1102 to destination 206as previously described.

FIG. 13D illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 9B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1300, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and voltage (125 mv) on the B input, coupled to signalpath 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1302 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306 and comparator1304 will output a logic low to OR gate 1306. In response, the OR gatewill output a logic low on the output C, causing multiplexer 1106 ofFIG. 11A to output the output (Out*) of inverter 1102 to destination 206as previously described.

FIGS. 13E-13H depicts another circuit 1308 that could be used to realizewindow comparator 1204 of FIG. 12A. Circuit 1308 comprises a firstcomparator 1310 with its non-inverting input coupled to the A input, itsinverting input coupled to a reference voltage (assumed to be 250 mv inthe FIG. 13E-13H examples), and an output coupled to the C output, asecond comparator 1312 with its non-inverting input coupled to the Binput, its inverting input coupled to the reference voltage, and anoutput coupled to the D output. To simply the description, circuit 1308will be shown used in the signaling arrangements previously described inFIGS. 6B, 7B, 8B, and 9B, and with the previously assumed resistance andcurrent values stated for said Figures.

FIG. 13E illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 6B, the voltage (625 mv) on the A input of circuit1308, coupled to signal path 514, will be greater than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (125 mv) the on B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1310 will output a logic high on the C output and comparator1312 will output a logic low on the D output. In response to C beinghigh and D being low, multiplexer 1206 of FIG. 12A will output the fixedlogic high input to destination 206 as previously described.

FIG. 13F illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 7B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1308, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (625 mv) the on B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be greater than the reference voltage (250 mv).Thus comparator 1310 will output a logic low on the C output andcomparator 1312 will output a logic high on the D output. In response toC being low and D being high, multiplexer 1206 of FIG. 12A will outputthe fixed logic low input to destination 206 as previously described.

FIG. 13G illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 8B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1308, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (125 mv) the on B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1310 will output a logic low on the C output and comparator1312 will output a logic low on the D output. In response to C being lowand D being low, multiplexer 1206 of FIG. 12A will output the output(Out*) of inverter 1202 to destination 206 as previously described.

FIG. 13H illustrates that in the previously described signalingarrangement of FIG. 9B, the voltage (125 mv) on the A input of circuit1308, coupled to signal path 514, will be less than the referencevoltage (250 mv) and the voltage (125 mv) the on B input, coupled tosignal path 516, will be less than the reference voltage (250 mv). Thuscomparator 1310 will output a logic low on the C output and comparator1312 will output a logic low on the D output. In response to C being lowand D being low, multiplexer 1206 of FIG. 12A will output the output(Out*) of inverter 1202 to destination 206 as previously described.

While FIGS. 11A-11B, 12A-12B, and 13A-G have shown various examples ofhow to design input circuits 504 for use by the present disclosure, itis anticipated that other ways of designing input circuits 504 will beconceived by those skilled in the art. Thus the present disclosure isnot limited to only using the example input circuit designs shown anddescribed herein.

FIG. 14 illustrates two devices 1400 and 1402 coupled together using anLVDS signal path 514-516 for transferring data signals and an LVDSsignal path 1424-1426 for transferring clock signals. The devicescommunicate data simultaneously between each other using input circuit504, driver 100, and signaling path resistor network as previouslydescribed. The data being communicated could be of any data type,including but not limited to; functional data, test data, debug data,trace data, and emulation data

Device 1400 comprises a deserializer 1404 for inputting serial data frominput circuit 504, data receiving circuitry 1406 for inputting paralleldata from the deserializer 1404, a serializer 1408 for inputting serialdata to driver 100, and data providing circuitry 1410 for inputtingparallel data to serializer 1408. The combination of the data receivingcircuitry 1406 and deserializer 1404 represent one example design for adestination circuit 206. The combination of the data providing circuitry1410 and serializer 1408 represent one example design for a sourcecircuit 202. Device 1400 also comprises clock output circuitry 1412 andan LVDS clock driver 1428. The clock output circuitry 1412 provides aclock output to driver 1428 and outputs control (CTL) signals to operatethe providing circuitry 1410, serializer 1408, deserializer 1404, andreceiving circuitry 1406. The control (CTL) signals output to theserializer and deserializer from the clock output circuit will operatefaster than the control signals to the receiving and providing circuitssince they will be controlling the higher speed serial input and outputoperations occurring over signal paths 514 and 516. The clock outputcircuit 1412 may employ use of clock and control signal modificationcircuits such as but not limited to; a phase lock loop, a phase shifter,a frequency divider, or a frequency multiplier. Driver 1428 is similarto driver 100 and drives LVDS clock outputs from device 1400 on signalpaths 1424 and 1426. LVDS clocking is shown being used to provide highspeed clock signals from device 1400 to device 1402. If desired, singleended clocking could be used instead of the differential clocking shown,but the clocking frequency would be reduced between device 1400 and1402. Device 1400 is assumed to be a master device since it outputs theLVDS clock on signal paths 1424-1426.

Device 1402 comprises a deserializer 1418 for inputting serial data frominput circuit 504, data receiving circuitry 1420 for inputting paralleldata from the deserializer 1418, a serializer 1414 for inputting serialdata to driver 100, and data providing circuitry 1416 for inputtingparallel data to serializer 1414. As in device 1400, the combination ofthe data receiving circuitry 1420 and deserializer 1418 represent oneexample design for a destination circuit 206, and the combination of thedata providing circuitry 1416 and serializer 1414 represent one exampledesign for a source circuit 202. Device 1402 also comprises clock inputcircuitry 1422 and an LVDS clock receiver 1430. The clock inputcircuitry 1422 receives the clock output from receiver 1430 and outputscontrol (CTL) to operate the providing circuitry 1416, serializer 1414,deserializer 1418, and receiving circuitry 1420. The control (CTL)signals output to the serializer and deserializer from the clock inputcircuit will operate faster than the control signals to the receivingand providing circuits since they will be controlling the higher speedserial input and output operations occurring over signal paths 514 and516. The clock input circuit 1422 may employ use of clock and controlsignal modification circuits such as but not limited to; a phase lockloop, a phase shifter, a frequency divider, or a frequency multiplier.Receiver 1430 is similar to receiver 102 and inputs the LVDS clockoutputs from device 1400 on signal paths 1424 and 1426. Device 1402 isassumed to be a slave device since it inputs the LVDS clock on signalpaths 1424-1426.

During operation data is transmitted from the providing circuitry 1410and serializer 1408 of device 1400 to the deserializer 1418 andreceiving circuitry 1420 of device 1402. Simultaneous with datatransmitted from device 1400 to device 1402, data is transmitted fromthe providing circuitry 1416 and serializer 1414 of device 1402 to thedeserializer 1404 and receiving circuitry 1406 of device 1400. Thesimultaneous data transfers between devices 1400 and 1402 are controlledby clock output circuitry 1412 of device 1400 and the clock inputcircuitry 1422 of device 1402. As mentioned, internal to device 1400,clock output circuitry 1412 provides the control (CTL) inputs to operatethe providing 1410, serializer 1408, deserializer 1404, and receiving1406 circuits. External to the device, Clock output circuitry 1412provides the LVDS clock input to device 1402. Internal to device 1402,and in response to the LVDS clock input from device 1400, the clockinput circuitry 1422 provides the control (CTL) inputs to operate theproviding 1416, serializer 1414, deserializer 1418, and receiving 1420circuits.

FIG. 15 is provided to indicate that a plurality of the providing(1410,1416), serializer (1408,1414), deserializer (1404,1418), andreceiver (1406,1420) circuit arrangements 1504-1510 of FIG. 14 couldexist in devices 1500 and 1502. Each arrangement 1504-1506 in device1500 operable, in response to the clock output circuitry 1412 tocommunicate data simultaneously with an associated arrangement 1508-1510in device 1502 via an input circuit 504, driver 100, resistors, and LVDSsignal path 1512/1514.

FIG. 16 illustrates a device 1600 coupled to a debug, trace, oremulation controller 1610 via an LVDS signal path 1606 and LVDS clockpath 1608 according to the present disclosure. The debug, trace, oremulation controller 1610 is similar in design to the master device 1400of FIG. 14 with the exception that its specific function is to control adebug, trace, or emulation operation in device 1600 via the data andclock signal paths 1606 and 1608. Device 1600 is similar to the slavedevice 1402 of FIG. 14 with the exception that the providing circuit1416 of FIG. 14 is indicated to be a memory or other circuit 1602 thatneeds to be controlled by device 1610 to output data during a debug,trace, or emulation operation, and the receiving circuit 1420 of FIG. 14is indicated as being a memory or other circuit 1604 that needs to becontrolled by device 1610 to input data during a debug, trace, oremulation operation.

Using the LVDS signaling approach of the present disclosure, much higherdebug, trace, and/or emulation communication can occur between masterdevice 1610 and slave device 1600, as opposed to other approaches usedin the industry today. For example, it is well known to use the IEEE1149.1 standard interface (i.e. JTAG) for debug, trace, and/or emulationoperations. However, standard JTAG communication rates between a masterand slave device is limited to around 50-100 MHz. Since the presentdisclosure uses LVDS signaling, the communication rates between a master1610 and slave 1600 during debug, trace, and/or emulation operations canbe greater than 400 MHz. Indeed, using the LVDS signaling approach ofthe present disclosure, communication for debug, trace, and/or emulationoperations may well extend into the gigahertz range. Device 1600 can beextended, as shown in device 1502 of FIG. 15, to include a plurality ofLVDS signal paths and associated driver 100, input circuits 504,serializer 1414 and deserializer 1418 such that high speed communicationto greater number of debug, trace, and/or emulation circuits 1602 and1604 is possible.

FIG. 17 is provided to indicate that a slave device 1700 may use a shiftregister 1702 during debug, trace, and/or emulation operations insteadof a separate serializer 1414 (i.e. a serial in/parallel out circuit)and a separate deserializer 1418 (i.e. a parallel in/serial out circuit)if desired. In operation the shift register 1702 loads parallel debug,trace, and/or emulation data from circuit 1602 and shifts the data outto driver 100 as debug, trace, and/or emulation data is shifted in frominput circuit 504 to be loaded in parallel to debug, trace, and/oremulation circuit 1604.

FIG. 18 illustrates a device 1800 coupled to an IC or Die tester 1810via an LVDS signal path 1806 and LVDS clock path 1808 according to thepresent disclosure. The tester 1810 is similar in design to the masterdevice 1400 of FIG. 14 with the exception that its specific function isto control a test operation in device 1800 via the data and clock signalpaths 1806 and 1808. Device 1800 is similar to the slave device 1402 ofFIG. 14 with the exception that a scan path 1802 is coupled between theoutput of the input circuit 504 and the input of driver 100, and acircuit under test 1804 is shown coupled to the scan path 1802 to be thereceiving 1420 and providing 1416 circuits during test operations.Device 1800 can be a packaged IC, an unpackaged IC die, or a die onwafer. The circuit under test 1804 is typically, but not limited tobeing, combinational logic. The serial data input to scan path 1802 frominput circuit 504 is stimulus test data to be applied in parallel 1812to the inputs of circuit under test 1804. The serial data output fromscan path 1802 to driver 100 is response test data loaded in parallel1814 to the scan register from the circuit under test outputs. Scantesting is well known. What is new is performing scan testing using theLVDS signaling approach of the present disclosure.

Using the LVDS signaling approach of the present disclosure, much highertest input and output communication can occur between master device 1810and slave device 1800, as opposed to other approaches used in theindustry today. For example, known scan interface used in the industrytoday (IEEE standards 1149.1 and 1500) are limited to scan testcommunication rates/frequencies of around 50-100 MHz. Since the presentdisclosure uses LVDS signaling, the communication rates between a master1810 and slave 1800 during scan testing can be greater than 400 MHz.Indeed, using the LVDS signaling approach of the present disclosure,communication for scan test operations may well extend into thegigahertz range.

FIG. 19 illustrates a device 1900 coupled to an IC or Die tester 1912via a plurality of LVDS signal paths 1906-1908 and an LVDS clock path1910 according to the present disclosure. Each LVDS signal path1906-1908 is coupled to an arrangement 1902-1904 of drivers 100, inputcircuits 504, scan paths 1802, and circuits under test 1804. The tester11912 is similar to tester 1810 with the exception that it cancommunicate to the device 1900 over the plurality of LVDS signal paths1906-1908, instead of the single LVDS signal path of FIG. 18. Byincreasing the number of LVDS signal paths and arrangements 1902-1904 alarger number of circuits 1804 can be tested in parallel, whichdecreases test time of device 1900.

FIG. 20 illustrates either a plurality or ICs 2018-2030 in a fixture2000 or a plurality of die 2018-2030 on a wafer 2000 interfaced to aplural IC or die tester 2002 via LVDS data and clock signal paths2004-2016. If the IC or die 2018-2030 are the type shown in FIG. 18,there will be one LVDS data signal path pair and one LVDS clock signalpath pair between the tester 2002 and each IC or die 2018-2030. If theIC or die 2018-2030 are the type shown in FIG. 19, there will be oneLVDS clock signal path pair and a plurality of LVDS data signal pathpairs (indicated by increased line width) between the tester 2002 andeach IC or die 2018. FIG. 20 illustrates how a plurality of ICs2018-2030 in a fixture 2000 or a plurality of die 2018-2030 on a wafer2000 may be scan tested in parallel (i.e. at the same time) using theLVDS signaling approach of the present disclosure.

While FIGS. 18-20 have illustrated the LVDS signaling approach of thepresent disclosure for testing ICs or die using a scan test approach,other test approaches may be interfaced to the LVDS signaling approachof the present disclosure as well. Other test approaches that may beinterfaced to the LVDS signaling interface of the present disclosure mayinclude but are not limited to, (1) a test approach based on IEEEstandard 1149.1, (2) a test approach based on IEEE standard 1149.4, (3)a test approach based on IEEE standard 1149.6, (4) a test approach basedon IEEE standard 1500, (5) a test approach based on built in self test,and (6) a test approach based on functional testing.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure asdefined by the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A LVDS input circuit comprising: (a) a serial data outinput; (b) a first, serial data in, low voltage differential signallead; (c) a second, serial data in, low voltage differential signallead; (d) a serial data in output; (e) an inverter having an inputconnected to the serial data out input and having an output; (f) awindow comparator including: i. a first comparator having anon-inverting input connected to the first low voltage differentialsignal lead, an inverting input connected to the second low voltagedifferential signal lead, and a first control output, the firstcomparator requiring a voltage on the non-inverting input to be greaterthan a certain offset from a voltage on the inverting input beforeproducing a logic high on the first control output; and ii. a secondcomparator having a non-inverting input connected to the second lowvoltage differential signal lead, an inverting input connected to thefirst low voltage differential signal lead, and a second control output,the second comparator requiring a voltage on the non-inverting input tobe greater than a certain offset from a voltage on the inverting inputbefore producing a logic high on the second control output; (g) amultiplexer having a first input coupled to a fixed logic high, a secondinput coupled to a fixed logic low, a third input coupled to the outputof the inverter, a first control input connected to the first controloutput, a second control output connected to the second control output,and an output connected to the serial data in output.
 2. The LVDS inputcircuit of claim 1 including a resistor connected across the first andsecond low voltage differential signal leads.
 3. The LVDS input circuitof claim 1 including a data source circuit having a data out outputconnected to the data out input.
 4. The LVDS input circuit of claim 1including a data destination circuit having a data in input connected tothe data in output.
 5. The circuit of claim 1 in which the certainoffset is the same for the first and second comparator.
 6. The window ofclaim 1 in which the certain offset is the same for the first and secondcomparator and is 80 millivolts.
 7. The circuit of claim 1 in which whenthe voltage on the non-inverting input of the first comparator is lessthan the certain offset from the voltage on the inverting input, thefirst comparator producing a logic low on the output.
 8. The circuit ofclaim 1 in which when the voltage on the non-inverting input of thesecond comparator is less than the certain offset from the voltage onthe inverting input, the first comparator producing a logic low on theoutput.